Part-Time Yogi No More

I’m a part-time yogi. At least that’s how I would have described myself before starting the 200 hour Advanced Studies course at Boundless. I’ve been practicing for a few years now, and most of that time I’ve been able to carve out an hour or two for my practice each week.  But recently I made the decision to become a teacher, and I figure if people are going to pay good money for my instruction, then I better know what the hell I am talking about.  So it’s time to give myself a promotion. I’m becoming a full-time yogi; committing myself to practice at least five times a week. And I’m going to tell you all about it. Here we go.

Boundless’s mission statement is: “Fostering Transformation.”  In keeping with that mission, I will be posting a series of blogs about my experiences in the Advanced Studies Program, with a focus on the transformations that occur in my body and mind as I progress through the program over the next ten months.

The standard program consists of one big weekend of training a month, and after our first one I knew I had a long way to go. You would think after practicing at least a couple hundred times in my life thus far, I would have a good hang on some basic poses. And I mean really basic, like sitting and standing. Nope. Not even close.

After holding each pose for several minutes, my body started whispering signals of pain and discomfort where I was not in alignment. I guess I just never listened that closely before.  I had several revelations during class, like what it means to tuck your tailbone. It amazes me how many times I have heard that queue and never really understood what it means. I am beginning to grasp just how far I have to go.

So apparently I have some work to do. That’s good. That’s what I signed up for. I just hope it never gets easy. What fun would that be?